Of Serpents and Lions
by Kassaremidybelljesslynn
Summary: If there was one thing the Dark Lord was right about was that the wizards needed to be united. She looked around and she could see that through his evil, he had united them, from the slyest Slytherin to the proudest Gryffindor.
1. Chapter 1

Of Serpents and Lions  
><span>Chapter 1<span>

Summary: If there was one thing the Dark Lord was right about was that the wizards needed to be united. No more separations of the houses. She looked around and she could see that through his evil, he had united them, from the slyest Slytherin to the proudest Gryffindor.

This will chronicle the year at Hogwarts we were absent for. It will switch from Ginny, Luna, Neville, and Seamus's POV to Astoria, Blaise, Theodore, Daphne, Tracey, Draco, and Pansy's POV. I will try and update once a week, maybe more. I apologize for the horrible grammar and spelling in this chapter, but the thing I used for it doesn't have spell check.

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><p>Ginny could hardly breathe. The mist that had fallen over all of England was nothing compared to the heavy smog outside of Hogwarts. She couldn't see six inches in front of her, let alone where the carriages were. She felt that familiar sticky-cold feeling creeping up her skin, choking the happiness from her body – or what little was left of it anyway. All the horrible moments of her life were floating up to the surface. She could see herself, in her mind's eye, waking up in some corridor in the castle, covered in blood and feathers, wondering where she had been. She could feel the life leave her body as Tom Riddle sucked more and more of her force out of her. She saw her worst fears come to life – Ron, lying on some Muggle dirt road, eyes open and vacant. The Burrow burning with her parents still inside. Greyback hunting down Bill to finish what he had started. A line on the <em>Daily Prophet<em> reading saying that Harry Potter had finally been caught and –

"Ginny?" A dreamy voice shook Ginny out of her nightmare. "Ginny, is that you? I can't see a thing," Luna Lovegood said brightly from somewhere to Ginny's left.

"Yes Luna, I'm over here. Follow my voice," called Ginny loudly.

"Luna? Ginny?" a deep voice called out. A large and friendly hand enveloped Ginny's much smaller one and Ginny gave Neville Longbottom's hand a reassuring squeeze. Luna reached their side at last and gripped Ginny's other hand.

"Hey there Neville. I would tell you that you are looking very good and I see that you've grown over the summer but I can't see you so that would be rather pointless. But it is nice to hear your voice all the same," the Ravenclaw chirped happily as ever.

"Nothing gets you down, does it Luna?" Neville asked, his smile evident in his voice.

"Well, sometimes, when Wrackspurt is floating around and making everyone's brains go fuzzy, I do get a bit sad because I was having a wonderful conversation and then...nothing." Luna sighed sadly and Ginny bit back the giggle that was threatening to break free.

"Have either of you seen Seamus?" Neville asked.

"I thought I saw him talking to Nigel before getting off the train," Ginny said, looking around hopeless in the thick fog.

"Well, hopefully we'll bump into him when we get to the carriages. Come on you two," Luna said. The three walked towards where they guessed the carriages were, hand in hand. Under the cover of the fog, shouts about stepped on toes and bumping and groans of pain were heard. Every once in a while, Argus Filch could be heard yelling at unsuspecting second years when they got too close for comfort. The trio managed to find an empty carriage, and Luna stayed outside to call for Seamus.

"You know..." Neville started, gazing at the thestrals. "I know it's stupid, but I almost expected to run into Hermione and Ron patrolling the train, or Harry to invite me to sit with him. I know they could never but...I don't know, it was really stupid-"

"It's not stupid Neville. I understand," Ginny whispered.

"Here he is!" Luna shouted gaily, dragging a desheveled looking Seamus into the carriage with her.

"Where were you?" Neville asked as Seamus sank down into the seat next to Ginny.

"Well, I got distracted when Nigel was talking to me and I left me bloody tie on the train. I had to run all the way back there and then I ran into those Death Eaters that stopped the train," he explained in a rush.

"Did they hurt you?" Luna asked.

"No, I ran away before one of them noticed me. But do you know what I heard them gloating about?" Seamus yelled, half excited, half furios.

"What?" they all asked.

"That pyscho girl is going to be teaching Muggle Studies and her insane brother is going to be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts - except he just kept calling it Dark Arts," Seamus said.

"They're going to be our TEACHERS?" Ginny shrieked. Luna's eyes grew wide and her constant smile finally slipped. Neville grabbed Luna's hand.

"What did we expect, now that Snape is Headmaster? He'd hire Kingsley Shacklebolt or Tonks or anyone who wasn't a Death Eater? We're going to have to brace ourselves for the worst," Neville said quietly.

"I don't know why I even bothered to come back this year. We're not going to learn anything, and we'd be safer at home, what with Dumbledore gone," Seamus groaned.

"We have to come back. Remember what Harry always said? Dumbledore will never be gone if those who remain loyal to him stay on. We have to stay here, to make sure that part of Dumbledore lives on, to remind people that there is a little light left in the world because people still fight and hope," Neville said. Luna gazed up at Neville and smiled.

"Neville...I know you're always saying that you don't think you got sorted into the right house but...I really do think you're brave," she said sincerely. Neville blushed and shook his head, muttering about how Luna was overexaggerating even as Ginny and Seamus voiced their agreement.

The four talked idly of topics that seemed of no importance. If they ignored the gloomy landscape outside their carriage, they could almost fool themselves into believing this year was going to be just as any other year before.

As the carriage came to a stop, the group took a deep breathe, bracing themselves for the battle they knew loomed ahead of them, and grasped hands as they walked to the castle, united as one.

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><p>How was it? I'd appreciate a review. :) I'll have the next chapter up within five days.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Of Serpents and Lions  
><span>Chapter 2<span>

Summary: If there was one thing the Dark Lord was right about was that the wizards needed to be united. She looked around and she could see that through his evil, he had united them, from the slyest Slytherin to the proudest Gryffindor.

Note: This is NOT a Ginny/Draco romance. It's strictly friendship. Their eventual frienship will be the main focus, but there will also be friendships forging between Neville, Seamus, Luna, Astoria, Nott, Blaise, Daphne, and Tracey as well. The romances (eventually) will be Luna/Neville, Seamus/Lavender, Blaise/Daphne, Astoria/Draco, Myrtle/Draco and some Parvati/Dean and Ginny/Harry pining.

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><p>Draco was used to feeling in control. He was an only child, so he never had to share anything. He was a pure-blood, and even though the Ministry always boasted about being "equal opportunity," he still got special treatment due to his bloodline and ancestors. He was the best in his year, minus that Granger brat, so he got away with a bit more because his marks were so good. Now that the Dark Lord was in control, and people knew he was a Death Eater, he got away with even more. This year, even the professors at Hogwarts would let him roam free. He was unstoppable and very powerful.<p>

Yet, even with all these assets and attributes, when Draco stepped off the Hogwarts Express, he felt terrified. He knew the Dementors were the ones bringing up the memories, but still, he couldn't help the knot of dread coiling in his stomach like a slippery snake.

In his mind, images of all the horrible deeds he'd done, all the pain he'd seen happen, flashed across his mind with a searing pain. His head pounded as he thought about the people – the children! – he had tortured, the unsuspecting Muggles that had been murdered for fun, the hard-working witches and wizards that had their lives ripped away from them for their beliefs and bravery.

Bravery. He had always thought himself brave. Brave to stand up to Scarhead and tell him what he really thought. Brave to have the guts to call Granger a Mudblood, or Weasley (any one of the hundreds of them) a blood traitor. Brave to become a Death Eater, and brave to corner the great Albus Dumbledore and threaten him at just sixteen years old.

But Draco knew better now. He knew that he was not brave or he would have taken up Dumbledore's offer of safety, he would've stood up to the Dark Lord and refused to hurt the innocent children he had been ordered to obtain information from. He most likely would have died, but it was the brave thing, the right thing to do and he knew it – but he couldn't do it. He was a coward, too afraid of dying before he had ever really lived, and had submitted to the Dark Lord like the stupid little puppy he was. The worst thing of all was that he was applauded for it. Applauded as the half-dead little girl was carried away to the dungeon where she would be starved, applauded as the twelve year old boy who had been crying out for mercy was killed right in front of his eyes because after hours of torture, he had not given up a word of his parents' plans.

Draco, however, was very good at compartmentalizing. No one knew that he was screaming on the inside except his parents (and that ghost girl, but she wouldn't tell anyone).

Pansy Parkinson – the girl he was shagging this week – gripped his hand as they walked towards the carriages.

"Oh Draco! I can't see anything in this fog!" she yelled shrilly in his ear. She moved closer, not-so-subtly squashing her breasts against his arm and batting her eyelashes. Draco remembered a time when he had fancied himself in love with Pansy, back before he had been recruited, before he had seen the destruction he had been subjected to. Of course, he cheated, but all Slytherins cheated. Still, he had cut down on his cheating considerably for a while, and he knew she had as well. He had only occasionally slept with Daphne or Tracey, instead of every other night. But now...now he couldn't stand the sight of Pansy most of the time. She just went on and on and on about her hair, and how ugly everyone was – except herself and Draco of course – and how pureblooded and better than everyone else she was (Pansy was the reason he had found Myrtle. He was pretty sure she was the Mudblood that the Monster of Slytherin had killed all those years ago, but he had been so annoyed and upset that he couldn't bring himself to care. Honestly, if he could have touched her, he would have because she listened just enough and talked just enough and cared a lot and wasn't actually that bad looking, if you ignored the acne).

Draco lightly but firmly shook Pansy off of him as they climbed into their carriage, where Crabbe, Goyle, Daphne and Astoria Greengrass were already waiting. Draco purposely took the empty seat next to Astoria, which was also next to the side of the carriage, so Pansy would not sit next to him. Pansy barely noticed, as she was already gossiping with Daphne.

"Is Blaise sitting riding with us or Nott?" Draco asked.

"Nott," Astoria replied. Draco nodded. "How was your summer?" she asked conversationally (he noted that she actually sounded interested...). Of course, he couldn't answer her truthfully without possibly getting himself and his family in trouble, so he plastered his signature smirk on his face as he lied.

"Splendid. I can't talk about it much, if you know what I mean," he boasted, hoping this would make her drop the topic.

"Really?" Astoria asked. Draco detected a hint of sarcasm coming from her voice and raised his eyebrows at her.

"You don't believe me?"

She looked him over, taking in his gaunt appearance, and the messy look of his robes.

"Of course I do," she said, and this time Draco was sure he heard sarcasm, but didn't question it. He had never really liked Astoria. He supposed it was the whole idea that you never really like yourself in other people. Astoria could be arrogant and was especially sarcastic, with a smirk that drove most Slytherins crazy and made all Gryffindors angry. He turned to look out the window of the carriage and was unsurprised to find that he could see the thestrals pulling the carriages along to the castle.

For once, Draco was not happy to be at Hogwarts. The only thing he had to look forward to was the fact that he would be able to slack off on his work because of the Death Eaters. He reminded himself to go see Madam Pomfrey after the feast to get a Dreamless Sleeping Draught. The nurse, although stern, had always had a soft spot for scared looking students, and if Astoria's assessment of him was any indication, she would probably offer for him to stay in one of the beds.

When they got to the castle, the Slytherins walked to their table like they owned the entire castle. Loud laughs and talking came from their mouths and yet, Draco had a feeling that it was all for show. He himself couldn't place most of his fellow Slytherins' names.

At the height of Slytherin power and superiority, Draco had never felt more alone and scared. He sat down, amidst a sea of black and green, and felt a chill as though he was sitting completely alone.

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><p>So I checked my Hits thing-a-ma-bobber, and there have been a decent amout of hits on this story. It makes me happy that people looked at it. But I need reviews so I know what I'm doing rightwrong, what you would like to see, and all that. Please no flames, but constructive criticism is perfectly fine. I'll still post because it annoys me when authors say that they'll only post more if they get so many reviews, but I would like reviews. Even if it's a simple, "Hey, this was great. Update." or "Well, you could've done xxx better." or something. Please?  
>I will PM you back if you review, just to show you how much I appreciate it.<br>Please don't make me sound like a whiny bitch, which I know is what I resemble right now.

Love you all, even if you don't always review my stuff! :D


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